| A | B |
|---|
| today organizations are relying more on the expertise and initiative of employees. | True |
| The principle of shared information is part of the implementation of a command and control organizational system. | False |
| Connencting rewards to organizational performance generally ensures fairness,and tends to focus on the employees of the organization. | True |
| Status differences perpetuate colaboration and teamwork. | False |
| Adjustments in work design and technologies are particularly important to establish a clear performance-reward linkage. | True |
| Most high-performance work systems begin with recuirtment and selection practives that are very selective. | True |
| Training, a critical component of high performance work systems, helps to increase knowledge, facilitate learning and enhance information sharing. | True |
| Most high-performance work systems focus their training efforts on ensuring that employees have the skills necessary to assume a greater degree of responsibility. | True |
| Cross-training employees facilitates teamwork and cooperation, and helps employees identify trouble spots that cut across several jobs. | True |
| the compensation package is not significant for high performance work system to succeed, as HPWSs generally forcus on knowledge development and information sharing. | False |
| Skill-based pay systems are particularly appropriate for organizations that hope to increase the sharing of information across employees. | True |
| Because of its complexity, skill-based pay is sedom used in high performance work systems. | False |
| Open pay systems create a more egalitarian environment. | True |
| When the elements of the work system complement and reinforce one another, internal fit is achieved. | True |
| In a work system with a high degree of internal fit, adjusting one HR practice is not likely to substantially impact the other componenets of the work system. | False |
| The HR scorecard helps managers assess the strategic alignment of their work systems. | True |
| To successfully implement high-performance work systems, managers should emphasize the strategic importance of the change effort. | True |
| One of the best ways to communicate the business needs to employees is to show then the gap between today's current performance and capabilities and where the organization needs to be in the future to be successful. | True |
| To support the principle of sharing information, it is critical that managers encourage open dialogue and communication at all levels of the organization. | True |
| Involving union memebers only after the design process and implementation plan has been completed helps build a bridge toward employee buy-in. | False |
| In a union environment, organization power in negotiating is the key criterion for successfully implementing high-performance work systems. | False |
| Formal commitments between management and unions to jointly implement high-performance work systems serve to institutionalize the relationship so that it keeps goind even if key champions leave. | True |
| To successfully implement a high-performance work system, managers should try to implement all facets of the change at once. | True |
| The top-down approach to work system implementation ensures employee accceptance and commitment. | False |
| High-performance work systems need to be periodically evaluated in terms of organizational priorities and initiatives. | True |
| Once implemented, a process audit is used to determine whether the high-performance work system has been profitable. | False |
| In evaluating a high-performance work system, it is important to consider the changing nature of competition. | True |
| Employees skills, knowledge, and abilities that are not equally available to all organizations are difficult to imitate. | False |
| High-performance work systems that are designed around team processes and capabilities that cannot be transported, duplicated, or copied by rival firms are said to be difficult to imitate, | True |
| The philosophies, principles, and techniques that underlie high-performance work systems are only appropriate for large organizations. | False |
| Which of the following statements captures the fundamental logic of high-performance work systems? | All the HR practices work in complementary fashion to create synergy. |
| In addition to addressing competitive challenges, it is important that organizations address all of the following employee concerns except: | developing high technologies and processes. |
| Which of the following priniciples are critical for the success of empowerment and involvment initiatives in organizations? | shared information |
| Which of the following principles typifies a shift way from mentality of command and control in organizations? | shared information |
| The number of jobs requiring little knowledge and skills is _____ and the number of jobs requiring greater knowledge and skills is _______, in recent years. | decreasing; increasing |
| To be successful in today's competitive environment, many organizations must rely ______ on employee knowledge. | more |
| To invest in employee knowledge development, all of the following HR practices would be appropriate except: | evaluating employees based on task performance. |
| All of the following benefits are realized by aligning employee rewards with performance except: | employees will pursue outcomes that are beneficial to only themselves. |
| Connecting rewards to organizational performance ensures: | fairness and focuses employees on the organization |
| Lincoln Electric has been long recognized for its efforts in: | linking pay and performance |
| Creating an egalitarian environment is associated with all of the following except: | increased levels of turnover and absenteeism |
| Work environments in which collacoration and teamwork are encourages and status and power differences are diminished is known as: | an egalitarian environment |
| Egalitarian work environments reduce or eliminate _______, ehile increasing or improving_______. | status and power differences, collaboration and teamwork |
| Which of the following is not a typical method of increasing the powet of employees? | standardization |
| High-perfomance work system frequently begin with: | looking at how work is designed. |
| All of the following benefirs are realized be redesigning work around key business processes except: | it standardizes employees' skills |
| Studies indicate that performance and satisfaction are higher when organizations: | combine work flow design with HR practices that encourage development and involvement |
| Many high-performance work systems begin with highly directive | recruitment and selection practices |
| In high-performance organizations, training is undertaken in order for employees to: | assume greater responsibility |
| In high-performance work systems, training efforts tend to focus on all of the following except: | time management skills |
| Organizations that wished to emphasize teamwork involvement and continuous improvement would promote which type of training? | cross-training |
| One of the primary benefits of cross-training employees is that: | cross-training helps employees identify trouble spots that cut across several jobs |
| To create a more flexible pool of employees, managers should: | rely on skill-based pay structures |
| Which of the following compendation systems does not focus employee efforts on outcomes that are beneficial to both themselves and the organization as a whole? | hourly based pay systems |
| ______ is a pool of money employees can spend on capital improvements if the company meets profitability goals. | intracapital |
| The role of managers and supervisors in high-performance work systems has: | changed substantially |
| communication systems should provide accurare information regarding all of the following except: | employee background and personal data |
| The richest communication occurs: | face to face |
| To achieve internal fit, organizations should use the following HR practices together except: | morale testing |
| What type of fit describes high-performance work system that completment and reinforce one another? | internal fit |
| To achieve external fit, organizations must first analyze all of the following except: | other HR components |
| What type of fit describes high-performance work system that support the organization's goals and strategies? | external fit |
| Efforts to design high-performance work system in line with external fit issues such as competitive challenges and company values: | focus the design on strategic priorities |
| The HR scorecard is used to diagnose: | internal and external fit |
| Employment stability, team-based behaviors, and strategy-focused behaviors are used as part of an HR scorecard to assess: | workforce deliverables |
| Which of the following is not a critical factor that can make or break a high-performance work systems? | relying upon a narrow chain of communication with the managers who are responsible for implementation |
| One of the best ways to help employees see the need for change is to: | show a gap between the present and future |
| The ASTD council on high-performance work systems noted that _______ is the most frequent mistake that companies make during implementation. | failure to provide an adequest communication system |
| Within a high-performance work system, which type of labor-management relationship is least likely to prove effective? | an adversarial relationship |
| Which of the following is not a tangible symbol of commitment between labor and management? | good-faith negotiations |
| Building commitment to high-performance work system is: | an ongoing activity |
| The most appropriate method to implement a high performance work system is: | an integrated top-down and bottom-up approach |
| Regardless of the time available to implement a high-performance work system, the use of _____ helps keep everyone on track and prevents the system from bogging down. | a transition structure |
| The evaluation process of implementation should involve the following issues except: | Are employees treated more fairly so that power differences are minimal? |
| All of the following are results from using high-performance work systems except: | lower employee involvment |
| In order for organization to achieve a sustainable competitve advantage through people, they must develop competencies in their employees that are all of the following except: | generic |
| To enhance the degree of rareness in employee skill and abilities, organizations should develop competencies in their employees that: | are not equally available in the labor market |
| To attain a sustainable competitve advantage through people, organization should develop competencies in their employees that: | are designed around unique team processes |
| Which of the following fundamental principles of high-performance work systems do small-sized employers tend to have difficulty implementing? | none of the above |
| Which of the following would not support a high-performance work system in a small-sized organization? | relying upon outsourcing arrangements to attract high-quality employees |
